WHY EVERYONE HATES THIS CONCRETE BUILDING

Bad. desolate. Something hybrid of a large square box and a federal prison. People have described this skyscraper behind me in all of these ways. It's the University of California, Berkeley's Evans Hall. It is constructed in the brutalist architectural style. Additionally, you may witness brutalist architecture similar to this one all throughout US college campuses. Why do campuses have so many brutalist buildings? And what is it about this architectural style that causes such division?

Alright. First off, the term "brutalism" has nothing to do with the actual savagery of the architectural design. Even still, some could counter that it looks somewhat severe. Actually, it's a translation of a French expression. brut beton. The uncooked cement in French.

It's Timothy Rohan here. At UMass Amherst, he teaches architectural history. a university distinguished for its magnificent brutalist architecture. Additionally, UMass Brut, a campus group that promotes awareness of the university's architectural collection, calls this place home. Some architects are frequently brought up in discussions regarding the history of brutalism. Among these is Le Corbusier, a French architect of Swiss descent

In Marseilles, he constructed a massive residential complex. The Habitation Unit. This actually served as a model for the application of concrete and the emergence of brutalism. Prior to this, concrete was frequently utilized, but it might also have been painted, sanded, or cleaned in an innovative way. He did not smooth the concrete surface. In his subsequent work, Le Corbusier carried over the themes he introduced in Unité d'Habitation. Several other architects from that era, including Marcel Breuer, Paul Rudolph, Högna Sigurdardóttir, and Louis Kahn, also dabbled in the Brutalist sandbox. Brutalism evolved into a whole aesthetic philosophy in addition to a kind of building.

Rayner Banham, an architect, writer, and critic, established the following criteria for new brutalist constructions, which effectively served as a manifesto for the movement: One: An image that is memorable. Two: A vivid display of structure. Third: Materials are valued "as found." Up to this moment, the majority of modernist architecture was created by individuals like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who created svelte glass corporate skyscrapers with curtain walls—non-load-bearing veneers meant to conceal the structure. According to some architects, a city built entirely in this style will eventually become monotonous and banal. These structures were dubbed "fish bowls" by modernist architects. They were also made fun of for looking like graph paper.

Brutalist structures, on the other hand, aimed for integrity in their construction and materials. They demonstrated their construction to you. Following World War II, enrollment at colleges skyrocketed. One group of veterans who could afford to pay for college was those who qualified for government benefits after serving in the military. Universities had to construct new facilities in order to manage the influx of applicants. And with the need for so many new buildings, what did the architects of the day do? Roughness. Apologies.

Entire campuses featuring brutalist architecture have emerged at universities like Yale, garnering positive headlines in the New York Times. Across the nation, campuses constructed some truly amazing structures that embodied the demanding and idealistic brutalist style. Universities such as Berkeley, the University of Chicago, UMass Dartmouth, UC San Diego, and Harvard. Some universities, such as Yale University, desired to move away from the traditional Gothic and Georgian architectural styles. A campus for gentlemen of distinction, akin to Oxford or Cambridge. They now aim to demonstrate that they are developing into a top research university in the world. At this point, my university, the University of Massachusetts, grew from an agricultural college to a research university.

a prominent Massachusetts campus. As a result, they begin to host contemporary architecture as a way to demonstrate their advancement. The US economy had a downturn in the 1970s. Campus construction virtually stopped, and upkeep of already-existing buildings was disregarded, leaving many of the buildings brutalist and otherwise dilapidated and in need of repair. Additionally, there were significant maintenance cuts in the 1970s. It is apparent. Additionally, many campuses have a policy in place known as deferred maintenance. We will not be performing repairs. We will not allow the gutter to continue. No air conditioning that was never installed will be installed by us. It has been postponed until later. When will this moment arrive? I believe that might be today.

There was a noticeable shift in the construction industry with the arrival of the 1980s. University buildings designed by architects such as Robert Venturi incorporated playful design elements, asymmetrical shapes, and brighter colors. Many campuses across the nation chose to demolish aging brutalist buildings in favor of erecting brand-new, slick structures instead of attempting to preserve or repair them. And it appears that poor Evans Hall here in Berkeley is going to suffer just that. Despite the fact that, according to a campus representative, "no project in the works, or approved to demolish Evans Hall," They continued by stating that all offices and classrooms are currently being moved out of the building. and will subsequently build

that one, too? that one, too? Evans and more than twenty-two other campus buildings have the same seismic rating. Why then focus solely on Evans? It frequently involves several other factors, such as real estate. These locations are valuable spaces on college campuses, which makes them scarce. The true explanation could be found further down in the report when it states that Evans Hall is deemed out of place with the Beaux Arts Buildings in the Classical Core because of its massing height, scale, and materiality, obstructing views to San Francisco and beyond. Furthermore, the new buildings' "ad-hoc placement" and "lack of sensitivity" My advice is to have patience.

Just because you think something is out of style right now doesn't mean it has to go. Though there hasn't been much positive perception of brutalism in a few generations, there is still hope. It appears that something of a renaissance is taking place. Dr. Rohan conducts tours of the brutalist buildings on his university's campus in an effort to introduce the concept of brutalist architecture to a younger audience. Furthermore, Zillow has listed brutalism as one of the top trends to look out for in 2024. You can see that the influence of brutalism has permeated many facets of our culture.

There are $1,000 concrete coffee tables from West Elm... and Jay-Z and Beyoncé spent $200 million on an oceanfront home with brutalist design. I believe it has permeated popular culture via Pinterest and Instagram. All of these items. Its architecture is incredibly expressive. It photographs really well; it's like cats on the Internet. It simply spreads.